Fire in Grunewald spreads uncontrollably

Enlarge image

Gray clouds over the Grunewald: The fire brigade cannot get to the fire because of the risk of explosion

Photo: Kay Nietfeld / dpa

Ammunition, heat, drought: The operation against the fire in Berlin's Grunewald presents the emergency services with great challenges.

"The situation is unclear, the forest continues to burn uncontrollably," said a spokesman for the Berlin fire department of the AFP news agency.

The fire apparently broke out on Thursday morning in the south-west of the capital due to an explosion at a police detonation site.

According to the fire department, explosive ordnance and fireworks, among other things, are stored there.

Hours later, bangs can still be heard from the direction of the blasting site, the dpa news agency reported.

• The fire in Grunewald burned uncontrollably in the morning over an area of ​​1.5 hectares, around 15,000 square meters.

  According to the fire brigade, they identified three to four embers from the air.

  "But we can't fight them yet because they are in this danger area," said a fire department spokesman for the n-tv station.

  Because of the risk of explosion, the fire brigade has drawn a blocking circle of around 1000 meters around the fire.

The use could be life-threatening, said a fire department spokesman for the dpa.

Images from the air using a drone and a police helicopter should provide orientation.

In addition, the scorching heat is a strain on the fire brigade and police forces, who have to be replaced more frequently.

However, the emergency services started containment work.

Around the fire, they began irrigating the adjacent wooded areas.

This is to make it more difficult for the flames to spread.

Residential areas not at risk

According to the dpa, the emergency services cannot count on the support of a fire-fighting helicopter from the Bundeswehr during the fire in Berlin's Grunewald.

Such is currently not available due to the forest fire in Saxony, said a fire department spokesman.

A police helicopter, on the other hand, was in action in the morning and was initially concerned with giving the forces an overview from the air.

Residential areas are not in danger according to the findings of the fire department.

"We will prevent that," said a spokesman.

The nearest residential buildings are at least two kilometers away.

So far there have been no injuries.

»The forest is bone dry«

According to a police spokesman, it is still unclear how the explosion occurred early Thursday morning.

According to local residents, it could be heard from miles away.

Thick plumes of smoke can be seen in the fire service footage moving across the fire area.

It can be assumed that the high level of drought in the area will affect the further course of the fire, it said.

"The forest is bone dry," said Jan Thomsen, spokesman for the Senate Department for the Environment, Mobility, Consumer and Climate Protection.

The forests could not have recovered from the past drought periods.

When asked how useful a blasting site in the forest was at all, he said: "We will deal with the safety issues once the cause of the fire has been clarified."

traffic delays and closures

The fire brigade urgently warned the population not to enter the forest on Thursday.

The area is cordoned off over a large area.

The regional and S-Bahn services to the west are interrupted.

In long-distance traffic, only the intercity connection in the direction of Magdeburg/Hannover/Stendal/Amsterdam is affected.

The IC trains are currently being diverted via Spandau.

Stops in Berlin-Wannsee and Potsdam are omitted.

The Avus motorway (A115) in Berlin is expected to remain closed throughout the day.

The authorities warned the population about the fire on the warning apps.

Residents should keep windows and doors closed.

Ventilation and air conditioning should be turned off.

The Grunewald hunting lodge will remain closed on Thursday due to the fire in the area.

The Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg announced in the morning that there was no danger to the hunting lodge.

bbr/dpa/AFP